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Summer 2013 Newsletter. Volume 13. Issue 1 1514 West Hall of Fame
Email: ability@okstate.edu Stillwater, OK 74078
Website: www.agrability.okstate.edu Toll Free: 888-885-5588 (voice/tty)
About Oklahoma AgrAbility
Oklahoma AgrAbility educates and connects agricultural families who are living with a disability with resources to secure
assistive technologies for continued independence and success in their operation and daily life activities.
Farmer SUCCESS Spotlight
focuses on Mickey
Mickey has been a farmer since he was 12 years old. He and his wife, Catherine, now farm 300 acres in northeast Oklahoma, where Mickey raises milo, small grains, and some wheat.
Farming has always been a major part of Mickey’s life, but arthritis, a lower extremity amputation, and cardiovascu­lar disease have posed barriers for Mickey in his agricultural production. Due to his cardiovascular disease, Mickey uses an implant to pump his heart for him. These health barriers make it difficult for Mickey when standing, walking, sitting—and especially when twisting.
While Mickey is glad to have the pump which keeps his heart beating and his blood pumping through­out his body, his heart condition keeps him from being too active or from exerting very much energy. With these ob­stacles to Mickey’s health and, therefore, to his agricultural
operation, his wheat production diminished drasti­cally and his hog operation dissolved. His tractor—an
essential tool for any farmer with 300 acres of crops—was
difficult to maneuver. It was especially challenging for Mickey to twist and see behind while operating his
tractor and while hooking up equipment and implements. Because of these obstacles, for the past seven years, Mickey has mostly only been able to produce milo.
Mickey needed assistive technology to keep his farm running, so AgrAbility connected Mickey with the Oklahoma Assistive Technology
Foundation. OkAT was able to provide Mickey with
assistive technology that enhances Mickey’s
tractor. OkAT provided a monitor and accompanying
rear-facing camera mounted on the back of the tractor,
helping Mickey to complete his agricultural activities using his tractor. Now Mickey doesn’t have to strain or possibly injure himself twisting to view the space behind his tractor while attaching equipment. With the help from OkAT and the assistive technology they provided, Mick­ey plans to return to his wheat crop in the coming years.
Through AgrAbility, OkAT was able to
provide the assistive technology that Mickey needed to
continue his agricultural operation. At just over 71 years old now, Mickey won’t have to quit farming anytime soon.

Summer 2013 Newsletter. Volume 13. Issue 1 1514 West Hall of Fame
Email: ability@okstate.edu Stillwater, OK 74078
Website: www.agrability.okstate.edu Toll Free: 888-885-5588 (voice/tty)
About Oklahoma AgrAbility
Oklahoma AgrAbility educates and connects agricultural families who are living with a disability with resources to secure
assistive technologies for continued independence and success in their operation and daily life activities.
Farmer SUCCESS Spotlight
focuses on Mickey
Mickey has been a farmer since he was 12 years old. He and his wife, Catherine, now farm 300 acres in northeast Oklahoma, where Mickey raises milo, small grains, and some wheat.
Farming has always been a major part of Mickey’s life, but arthritis, a lower extremity amputation, and cardiovascu­lar disease have posed barriers for Mickey in his agricultural production. Due to his cardiovascular disease, Mickey uses an implant to pump his heart for him. These health barriers make it difficult for Mickey when standing, walking, sitting—and especially when twisting.
While Mickey is glad to have the pump which keeps his heart beating and his blood pumping through­out his body, his heart condition keeps him from being too active or from exerting very much energy. With these ob­stacles to Mickey’s health and, therefore, to his agricultural
operation, his wheat production diminished drasti­cally and his hog operation dissolved. His tractor—an
essential tool for any farmer with 300 acres of crops—was
difficult to maneuver. It was especially challenging for Mickey to twist and see behind while operating his
tractor and while hooking up equipment and implements. Because of these obstacles, for the past seven years, Mickey has mostly only been able to produce milo.
Mickey needed assistive technology to keep his farm running, so AgrAbility connected Mickey with the Oklahoma Assistive Technology
Foundation. OkAT was able to provide Mickey with
assistive technology that enhances Mickey’s
tractor. OkAT provided a monitor and accompanying
rear-facing camera mounted on the back of the tractor,
helping Mickey to complete his agricultural activities using his tractor. Now Mickey doesn’t have to strain or possibly injure himself twisting to view the space behind his tractor while attaching equipment. With the help from OkAT and the assistive technology they provided, Mick­ey plans to return to his wheat crop in the coming years.
Through AgrAbility, OkAT was able to
provide the assistive technology that Mickey needed to
continue his agricultural operation. At just over 71 years old now, Mickey won’t have to quit farming anytime soon.